Tag Archive

The state of New Mexico has 53,071 students enrolled in grades K-12, making up just 16.1% of the school population. Within this group Spanish is spoken by a large majority with Navajo, Nias, German, and Vietnamese making up the top five languages currently spoken by non-English speaking students. The state has also adopted the English language development framework of WIDA. … Read More

Katherine Del MonteELL Student Resources and Support in New Mexico04.04.2017

The state of Virginia has a total enrollment of 1,263,660 students in grades K-12 in the state public school system. 99,897 of them are English Language Learners making up 7.9% of the student population as of years 2012-2013. The vast majority of ELL students in Virginia speak Spanish, with Arabic, Vietnamese, Urdu, and Korean rounding out the top five other … Read More

New Research Links Bilingualism with Better Attention and Self Control Bilingualism has long been considered something of an advantage. Children who are taught to learn multiple languages are often better prepared for their lives ahead, not just for the reason that they can converse with people from diverse backgrounds in other countries, but because bilingualism is often an indication of … Read More

The state of Florida had 277,802 ELL students in their public school system as of 2012-2013. That figure represents just over 10% of the children enrolled in grades K-12. The largest concentration of ELLs is found in Dade County with an estimated 66,497 students. Among the state’s ELL population, 72% speak Spanish, with Haitian, Portuguese, Arabic, and Vietnamese rounding out … Read More

Katherine Del MonteHelpful Resources for English Learners in Florida07.05.2016

In 2016, the New York City Department of Education set forth new standards and rules for English language instruction in all schools. These new rules were intended to guarantee additional language instruction and support to New York’s growing ELL population but, unfortunately, as Parent Herald puts it, “New York schools are having a difficult time implementing these rules.” Read on to learn … Read More

Katherine Del MonteWhat are the New Rules for ELLs in NYC Schools?06.27.2016

The state of Washington has an ELL population of 107,307 students in the public school system. With a total enrollment of 1,051,694, ELLs make up just over 10% of the students enrolled in grades K-12. The five languages spoken by ELLs are Spanish, followed by Russian, Vietnamese, Somali, and Chinese. The following is a list of useful resources and programs … Read More

Katherine Del MonteLinks and Resources for English Language Learners in Washington06.23.2016

We continue our examination of some of the more groundbreaking and essential theories on the subject of second language acquisition with the work of James Cummins. He believed that there are marked differences between social interaction and academic teaching as a method for acquiring and comprehending a second language. His theory can be broken down into two different aspects that … Read More

We conclude our look at some of the most prominent voices in the second language learning community with James Crawford, who has long been an activist for more effective bilingual education policies. A former editor of the online magazine, Education Week, Crawford has written numerous essays and books discussing language policy in schools, advocating for sensible language-learning legislation, pushing for … Read More

An anti-bias preschool curriculum is one that seeks to acknowledge and challenge prejudices in education and works to remove them from the teaching and learning environment. Schools using an anti-bias curriculum are acknowledging that many Western societies, though growingly diverse, continue to function with inherent inequity and racial cultural bias, and that this naturally carries over into education, which is … Read More

Katherine Del MonteHow an Anti-bias Curriculum Benefits the School Community05.29.2016

The Seal of Biliteracy is an award given to bilingual students upon high school graduation. The Seal of Biliteracy Initiative began in California and has now been adopted in 17 states, with more in progress. The national Seal of Biliteracy site states that: “The Seal of Biliteracy is an award given by a school, school district, or county office of … Read More